Thursday, January 23, 2014

Aussie Open Day 11

Just when you thought he was on his last legs "Bang" another Australian Open Semi Final! Federer has recaptured his dominance over players, his raquet skills are second to none and so are the variety of shots he possesses.Am i seeing a more aggressive Federer looking to finish more at the net?He is one of the few players that can do this playing the modern game and its great to see he has been looking for opportunities .If Federer remains positive AND can get control of the court to finish at net he will be very hard to beat.What a great semi final looming against his old nemesis Rafa Nadal.Tip for Juniors-Finish at the NetThis is a lost art of the modern game many rely on belting winners from the baseline.Watching tennis its frustrating to see a player bury a groundstroke into the corner and watching the opponent try to get it back ..two hander's will release and slice the ball back...off balanced and stretching with one hand and if on the forehand side same thing stretching wide off balanced they will float it back the best way they can.Now you know if you have hit a very good shot !...and you can see the other player struggling to get to the ball..OK GET TO THE NET AND FINISH IT OFF! Yesterday Federer won 49 points out of 66 net approaches.Just as a matter of interest Murray approached the net 27 times winning 17 points.For me this is a standout stat .Juniors if you see the player struggling put the floater away at the net ..be aggressive!You have to laugh at players antics and its always fun to watch in a highlight package like the one below.

Matches Of Interest for me todayBouchard vs N.LI - Age and experience to Li Na , Bouchard has had a great run ..surely it must end here!Cibulkova VS Radwanska - I am tipping the winner of this match to take out the tournament. Radwanska you are a pleasure to watch as you search the court looking for a way to win,,using the head over muscle. The modern player sometimes cannot change their game ..look at Sharapova for example its slam bang and hit it harder! and if that does not work then like this week on the first available flight outta here!Wawrinka Vs Berdych- I am going for Stan! he has the game it will be tough but lets hope he sets the arena on Fire like last match against Djokovic. I always worry about Stan's fitness level and I hope after a days rest the Djoker match did not take a lot out of him!.Will be close could go either way for sure.